From B.P. v. A.Z., decided last week by the California Court of Appeal, in an opinion by Justice Martin Buchanan, joined by Justices Judith McConnell and Julia Kelety; note that the upheld order isn't limited to defamation, and indeed bans future postings even if they aren't defamatory (unless they "concern[] [A.Z.'s] personal observations regarding [B.P.]"):
A.Z. appeals from an order granting B.P.'s request for a civil harassment restraining order (CHRO) on behalf of himself and his spouse P.I…. The dispute apparently originated from two other cases, one in which B.P. [an attorney] represented a party who sued A.Z. in a consumer fraud matter relating to her sales of German Shepherd puppies, and another in which A.Z. sued B.P. for defamation for accusing her of being an "animal abuser." …
A.Z. did not file a response to the CHRO request and did not appear at the … hearing…. According to the minute order, B.P. and P.I. appeared with two witnesses. After hearing testimony and reviewing exhibits, Judge [Rebecca] Zipp granted a three-year CHRO against A.Z. and imposed personal conduct and stay-away orders and a prohibition on possession of firearms, ammunition, and body armor.
Judge Zipp also ordered A.Z. to remove certain internet postings and explained this portion of her order as follows: "A court may restrain speech the court has adjudicated as unlawful, harassing, or defamatory. [¶] … [¶] [A.Z.]'s creation of the yelp web page for [B.P.] Law Office, as well as her posts about [B.P.] on [AZ].org constitute a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at [B.P.] that seriously alarms, annoys, and/or harasses him. These pages serve no legitimate purpose. I find that [A.Z.] created these sites and pages specifically to disseminate defamatory statements about [B.P.], and that [A.Z.] did use them solely to disseminate defamatory statements about [B.P.]. [¶] [A.Z.] is ordered to remove these postings within 24 hours of being served with the court's civil harassment restraining order. [¶] [A.Z.] is further ordered to desist from posting additional content online regarding [B.P.], including his likeness, for the duration of the order, unless such content concerns her personal observations regarding [B.P.]. [A.Z.] is prohibited from making knowingly false statements about her legal matters involving [B.P.]." …
